Economist forecasts had centred on a rise of 0.4 per cent, seasonally adjusted, although there was a wide variation in forecasts between 0.7 and -0.2 per cent.

The main driver of the result was a rise in the Bureau of Statistics figures was food sales, both at supermarkets (up 0.5 per cent) and cafes and restaurants (up 1.8 per cent).

Newspaper and book retailing was another solid performer, rising 1.4 per cent, as was the furniture, floor coverings, housewares and textiles group which rose 2.5 per cent.

However, other parts of the household good sector fell, with hardware and garden down 2.2 per cent and electrical goods retailing off 0.6 per cent.

Another sector that did not perform well was clothing, footwear and personal accessories, which was down 0.3 per cent overall.

As these categories dominate department stores, that sector fell 0.1 per cent, with the trend decided negative with a 0.6 per cent fall - recent retail results from Wesfarmers and Woolworths have indicated that discount department stores in particular have been suffering.

Across the states, New South Wales and Tasmania recorded the best growth of 0.8 per cent, while Queensland and the Northern Territory posted very modest growth.

Western Australia had the biggest decline in sales (0.9 per cent), with South Australia and the ACT just behind, while Victoria had a modest decline.

The picture for retailers was better over the past year, with sales up 5.7 per cent since March 2013.

Economists also say there was a solid 1.2 per cent rise in retail sales volumes over the first quarter of the year to the end of March, which should make a reasonable contribution to that quarter's economic growth figure.

However, Westpac's Matthew Hassan says there are clear signs of sales losing momentum over the first quarter, especially outside of food and household goods.

"Compared to the fourth quarter's nearly across the board gains, the first quarter had a strong 3.5 per cent rise for household goods retailers and a 3.1 per cent gain for cafes and restaurants, but flatter volume growth elsewhere and outright declines for department stores and clothing," he observed in a note on the data.